What You Give Your Attention To

 

What Jesus Said - The Sermon on the Mount

What you give attention and focus to determines how spiritually healthy you are. A pure focus on God and his will for you produces a light and power to which nothing can compare. Losing this focus and flirting with evil thoughts and desires puts you on the road to deep spiritual darkness.

Matthew 6:22 (TLB) “If your eye is pure, there will be sunshine in your soul. 23 But if your eye is clouded with evil thoughts and desires, you are in deep spiritual darkness. And oh, how deep that darkness can be!

12/21/2025

What You Put Your Faith In

What Jesus Said - The Sermon on the Mount 

Your treasure (what you put your faith in) is what you receive now and forever.  This earth belongs to Satan. He creates or influences all criminality and human suffering. Jesus said this requires you to place your faith in God’s promises more than faith in anything or anyone else. 

Matthew 6:19-21 (TLB) 19 “Don’t store up treasures here on earth where they can erode away or may be stolen. 20 Store them in heaven where they will never lose their value and are safe from thieves. 21 If your profits are in heaven, your heart will be there too.

12/14/2025

When you Fast, put on Festive Clothing

 

What Jesus Said - The Sermon on the Mount

Fasting has been practiced from time immemorial because, for a short time, you literally allow God to be your daily bread. Inviting God’s presence in this quiet, discrete manner can dramatically change your sense of who you are and your place in God’s order. 

Matthew 6:16-18 (TLB)  “And now about fasting. When you fast, declining your food for a spiritual purpose, don’t do it publicly, as the hypocrites do, who try to look wan and disheveled so people will feel sorry for them. Truly, that is the only reward they will ever get. 17 But when you fast, put on festive clothing, 18 so that no one will suspect you are hungry, except your Father who knows every secret. And he will reward you.

12/7/2025

Forgiveness - Giving the Resolution of your Feelings to God

 

What Jesus Said - The Sermon on the Mount

To forgive is to stop being angry or resentful toward another. God does this all the time for you! There is always reaction to an action - in law and in relationships - so accountability WILL occur. Forgiving means you give the resolution of your feelings to God. 

Matthew 6:14-15 (TLB) 14-15 Your heavenly Father will forgive you if you forgive those who sin against you; but if you refuse to forgive them, he will not forgive you.

11/30/2025

Our Father Who Art in Heaven

 

What Jesus Said - The Sermon on the Mount

This prayer opens with a honoring statement of fact: God is Father of all. His ways are above humans, so you ask to know his ways.  He promises to meet your basic needs.  He protects you from the enemy as you ask him to. He forgives you and places a caveat: You must forgive others also.   

Matthew 6:9-13 (TLB) 9 “Pray along these lines: ‘Our Father in heaven, we honor your holy name. 10 We ask that your kingdom will come now. May your will be done here on earth, just as it is in heaven. 11 Give us our food again today, as usual, 12 and forgive us our sins, just as we have forgiven those who have sinned against us. 13 Don’t bring us into temptation, but deliver us from the Evil One. Amen.’

11/23/2025

Private Prayer and Public Prayer

 

What Jesus Said - The Sermon on the Mount

Private prayer is between you and God. Jesus cautions against repetitive prayers, for good reason. Some are comforting and this is good, but separate those from talking simply and honestly to God every day.  He knows your heart better than you do. 

Matthew 6:5-8 (TLB) 5 “And now about prayer. When you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites who pretend piety by praying publicly on street corners and in the synagogues where everyone can see them. Truly, that is all the reward they will ever get. 6 But when you pray, go away by yourself, all alone, and shut the door behind you and pray to your Father secretly, and your Father, who knows your secrets, will reward you. 7-8 “Don’t recite the same prayer over and over as the heathen do, who think prayers are answered only by repeating them again and again. Remember, your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him!

11/16/2025

God Approved or only Man Approved?

What Jesus Said - The Sermon on the Mount

Jesus did good deeds as a matter of course and quietly. His emphasis was on doing them. Character and generosity are their own reward. God rewards you for your kindness and good deeds.  Look for God’s approval, not “the public” or  friends (who can turn on you in a second)!

Matthew 6:1-4 (TLB) 1 “Take care! Don’t do your good deeds publicly, to be admired, for then you will lose the reward from your Father in heaven. 2 When you give a gift to a beggar, don’t shout about it as the hypocrites do—blowing trumpets in the synagogues and streets to call attention to their acts of charity! I tell you in all earnestness, they have received all the reward they will ever get. 3 But when you do a kindness to someone, do it secretly—don’t tell your left hand what your right hand is doing. 4 And your Father, who knows all secrets, will reward you.

11/9/2025

How to be Perfect

What Jesus Said - The Sermon on the Mount

In today’s use of the word, to be perfect is to never make a mistake. In Greek, (the language of the New Testament), it means to align yourself with God’s deep love, holiness, forgiveness and grace. Learn what these things are and do your best to make it part of your character. 

Matthew 5:48 (TLB) 48 But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.

11/2/2025

Love your Enemy

 

What Jesus Said - The Sermon on the Mount

Seeing evil persons prosper galls everyone, but Jesus said misfortune and good things come to all - good and evil alike.  Anyone can dislike another, even with just cause, but Jesus asks you to rise to a new level of respectfulness. Pray for all who mistreat you and ask God to bless them.

Matthew 5:43-47 (TLB) 43 “There is a saying, ‘Love your friends and hate your enemies.’ 44 But I say: Love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! 45 In that way you will be acting as true sons of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust too. 46 If you love only those who love you, what good is that? Even scoundrels do that much. 47 If you are friendly only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? Even the heathen do that.

10/26/2025

Go the Extra Mile

 

What Jesus Said - The Sermon on the Mount

Jesus said to have a generous spirit even in contentious situations.  Go the extra mile (as he did). If you must go to prison, be a positive person in that population. If you are asked to give, be a giver (as well as you are able) and know that all humans are weak vessels.

Matthew 5:40-42 (TLB) 40 If you are ordered to court, and your shirt is taken from you, give your coat too. 41 If the military demand that you carry their gear for a mile, carry it two. 42 Give to those who ask, and don’t turn away from those who want to borrow.

10/19/2025

Turn the Other Cheek

What Jesus Said - The Sermon on the Mount

A “slap in the face” in Bible times meant a verbal insult, not a physical assault. To turn the other cheek symbolized talking your differences out face-to-face, if you could. If you want to move toward resolution, your ego must be kept in check. Returning insults won’t get you there. 

Matthew 5:38-39 (TLB) 38 “The law of Moses says, ‘If a man gouges out another’s eye, he must pay with his own eye. If a tooth gets knocked out, knock out the tooth of the one who did it.’ 39 But I say: Don’t resist violence! If you are slapped on one cheek, turn the other too.

10/12/2025

Say Yes or Say No Only

What Jesus Said - The Sermon on the Mount

Don’t promise or do anything you know God will not bless. God’s desire is that you be trustworthy, just as he is. When you live in this way, you will have what you need to follow through on your promises. Keep it simple, as God does, and you will be a trustworthy person.

Matthew 5:33-37 (TLB) 33 “Again, the law of Moses says, ‘You shall not break your vows to God but must fulfill them all.’ 34 But I say: Don’t make any vows! And even to say ‘By heavens!’ is a sacred vow to God, for the heavens are God’s throne. 35 And if you say ‘By the earth!’ it is a sacred vow, for the earth is his footstool. And don’t swear ‘By Jerusalem!’ for Jerusalem is the capital of the great King. 36 Don’t even swear ‘By my head!’ for you can’t turn one hair white or black. 37 Say just a simple ‘Yes, I will’ or ‘No, I won’t.’ Your word is enough. To strengthen your promise with a vow shows that something is wrong.

10/5/2025

The Seriousness of Divorce

What Jesus Said - The Sermon on the Mount

God restores, forgives and perseveres with you. The same is required in marriage and with children. Faithfulness and care for others, not just your own desires, is developed and rooted in marriage. Marriage is that important!  Divorce is not taken lightly for that reason. 

Matthew 5:31-32 (TLB) 31 “The law of Moses says, ‘If anyone wants to be rid of his wife, he can divorce her merely by giving her a letter of dismissal.’ 32 But I say that a man who divorces his wife, except for fornication, causes her to commit adultery if she marries again. And he who marries her commits adultery.

9/28/2025

What Comes Before Adultery

 

What Jesus Said - The Sermon on the Mount

Adultery doesn’t just appear, it comes after letting lustful thoughts linger and consume you (and sex is just one way of lusting). Jesus said when the thoughts come, stop them immediately. You approach it with the seriousness of metaphorically gouging out your own eye.

Matthew 5:27-30 (TLB) 27 “The laws of Moses said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 28 But I say: Anyone who even looks at a woman with lust in his eye has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 So if your eye—even if it is your best eye!—causes you to lust, gouge it out and throw it away. Better for part of you to be destroyed than for all of you to be cast into hell. 30 And if your hand—even your right hand—causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. Better that than find yourself in hell.

9/21/2025

Jesus Came to Fulfill the Law

 

What Jesus Said - The Sermon on the Mount

Jesus, named “Wonderful, Counselor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace,” was sent to create a better understanding of the laws of Moses and the warnings of the prophets. The road to God’s freedom is not always fast, but the most important road to take. 

Matthew 5:17-19 (TLB) 17 “Don’t misunderstand why I have come—it isn’t to cancel the laws of Moses and the warnings of the prophets. No, I came to fulfill them and to make them all come true. 18 With all the earnestness I have I say: Every law in the Book will continue until its purpose is achieved. 19 And so if anyone breaks the least commandment and teaches others to, he shall be the least in the Kingdom of Heaven. But those who teach God’s laws and obey them shall be great in the Kingdom of Heaven.

8/31/2025

Come to Terms Quickly with your Enemy

What Jesus Said - The Sermon on the Mount

Jesus said murder is rooted in, and cultivated from, simple every day anger. This is best handled day to day:  Admit you are angry or have wronged another. Go to the other person(s).  Discuss, apologize, forgive. God will bless your efforts as you do it his way.

Matthew 5:21-26 (TLB) But I have added to that rule and tell you that if you are only angry, even in your own home, you are in danger of judgment! If you call your friend an idiot, you are in danger of being brought before the court. And if you curse him, you are in danger of the fires of hell. 23 “So if you are standing before the altar in the Temple, offering a sacrifice to God, and suddenly remember that a friend has something against you, 24 leave your sacrifice there beside the altar and go and apologize and be reconciled to him, and then come and offer your sacrifice to God. 25 Come to terms quickly with your enemy before it is too late and he drags you into court and you are thrown into a debtor’s cell, 26 for you will stay there until you have paid the last penny.

9/14/2025

Blind to God's Mercies, Love and Kindness

 

The Sermon on the Mount - What Jesus Said

It is good to have knowledge and principles you consistently uphold, but the Pharisees were negatively focused on rule following. They were blind to the mercies, love and kindnesses God extended to them all through history. This made them a menace to themselves and others.

Matthew 5:20 (TLB) “But I warn you—unless your goodness is greater than  that of the Pharisees and other Jewish leaders, you can’t get into the Kingdom of heaven at all!

9/7/2025

Bringing Light into Darkness

The Sermon on the Mount - What Jesus Said

Jesus used light to describe his presence. This light affects all creation. It represents intelligence, hope and guidance that is unavailable to those in the dark. Believers are shown ways to raise their faith and standards of behavior into the light that brings hope for all.

Matthew 5:14-16 (TLB) 14 You are the world’s light—a city on a hill, glowing in the night for all to see. 15-16 Don’t hide your light! Let it shine for all; let your good deeds glow for all to see, so that they will praise your heavenly Father.

8/24/2026